1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biological particle analyzer and method of analyzing biological particles, and more particularly, to a biological particle analyzer and method of analyzing biological particles having a function of smart power savings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A biological particle analyzer is widely used in basic research and clinical practice for Biology related fields including Cell biology, Oncology, Hematology, Immunology, Parmacology, Genetics and Diagnostics of Clinic Analysis. A Flow Cytometer is biophysical technology employed to perform simultaneously multiparametric analysis according to cell properties such as surface receptors and DNA by detecting scattered light from tested cells.
The Flow Cytometry utilizes a beam of laser light generated by a light emission source to directly light up the test cells, e.g. microparticles having a diameter 0.5-50 micrometers. Those cells attached to fluorescent chemicals are excited by the laser light to emit scatter lights, and the scatter lights are picked up by the electronic apparatus for quality and quantity analysis of the cells. Moreover, an advanced Flow Cytometer may perform sorting and selection to purify populations of interest cells to be reused for further application. Thus, the Flow Cytometer is widely used in experiments of Immunology, Microbiology and Cell biology.
In-Home Care or Telemedicine is becoming more and more popular nowadays as it helps people make simple health examinations, e.g. blood glucose measurements, in home or in distant rural communities. Thus, there is a need to design a portable Flow Cytometer.
However, when the traditional biological particle analyzer is operating, the light emission source of the biological particle analyzer or the Flow Cytometer consumes most of the power, and the light emission source is often turned on no matter whether a test procedure is being performed, which not only wastes power but also produces a significant amount of heat. For a portable Flow Cytometer, a battery having a high capacity is required, which increases a size/volume or production cost of the portable Flow Cytometer. Worse yet, the amount of heat may shorten battery life and influence usage convenience/reliability of the portable Flow Cytometer. Therefore, how to effectively reduce the power consumption of the light emission source and keep good performance of the portable Flow Cytometer has become a goal in the field.